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Private Internet Access Review

October 1, 2015

Rating

Countries

17+

Servers

3443+

IPs

No Info

Price

7

Payment:

Credit Card, Paypal, Bitcoin

Protocols

PPTP, IPSec, OpenVPN

PrivateInternetAccess (PIA) is based in the United States. They have a simple client that has all the options you need but few bells and whistles. This service is really notable for its convenience in just about every regard, from opening an account to logging on to one of their servers.

Product Testing

PIA has a very compact client, as you can see from the screenshots. It tucks away neatly in the system tray when you connect on Windows.

Additional features including a kill switch and DNS leak protection are accessible from the client interface; two very nice enhancements.

Speed Test

Baseline Speedtest

PrivateInternetAccess Speedtest

PIA performed comparably to other big providers where speed testing was concerned. It didn’t blow away the competition, but it didn’t slow the connection down to below broadband range, either. The connection tested was a 50mbps/5mbps connection from Albuquerque to Washington DC for the baseline. The PIA server tested was in Texas, hitting the same speed testing server in Washington DC.

IP Check and DNSLeak

PIA did not leak our DNS server address. It has a checkbox for DNS leak protection right on the client. If you have trouble with DNS leaks, you can try this option, or hardcode a DNS server such as Google’s.
PIA had no issues with changing the IP address.

We Liked

Areas for Improvement

There were some issues with installing the TAP drivers on a Windows 8 computer, which required them to be re-installed. The error resulted in a series of nag screens.

Conclusion

PIA is simple, straightforward and easy to use. It’s a good service if you want something that makes privacy easy. The client isn’t on par with some of the competition, but the service has a great privacy policy, doesn’t log and comes at a very attractive price point. If you’re a power user, however, you might want to go with a service that offers a richer client interface.

Hong Kong TVB shows are played poorly with its Hong Kong servers. Even many Hong Kong bank sites such as HSBC and CCB have trouble to load. Unless you have a lot of time doing testing for its technical support, you are better to go other VPN service providers.

Paid. Tried to download. Would not download on Windows 7. Does not work on Ipads. Tried to get a refund. No luck there. They kept sending passwords, etc. but since I could not download it, I could not get a refund. Hugh rip off.

I had nothing but trouble with this outfit [PrivateInternetAccess] -constantly dropping connection, no notification that PIA had lost connection, etc. Got my 1st and only RIAA letter while supposedly “protected” by these clowns. Customer service response time was abysmal, almost 72 hrs. Truly their acronym fits them well.

I dumped them for HideMyAss about 2 months ago and could not be happier. Only flaw to HMA is MUCH lower [~70% lower] download speeds when torrenting but it’s worth it for the peace of mind. Fast customer service, too.